New Builds Take Time

First and foremost, upgrading from Magento 1 to Magento 2 requires an entirely new build rather than a simple migration. Although the updated platform has similarities to M1, it is essentially a different platform with a new coding structure and architecture to contend with. From our experience there are two main approaches to a M2 migration:

Lift and Shift: Essentially replicating the original website exactly as it is but on Magento 2.

Site Rebuild: Completely rebuilding your website and leveraging the enhanced functionalities of M2.

As you would expect with any major update or website rebuild, these projects are BIG and take time to complete well. As such, the transition requires careful planning and preparation, hence the urgency for businesses to be acting now! Leaving plenty of time to find the right partner to complete the project, there are also a few actions we encourage businesses to do to prepare their website for the upgrade.

1. Conduct a Site Health Check

Have you ever considered how healthy your website is? Well, if you’re planning a move to Magento 2 or any other platform, this is the perfect time to do just that. Conducting a site health check is a great way to take stock of what you already have, ensuring your website is functioning to its full potential before taking the project any further. By checking updates, analysing site speed, security and Magento coding, where and how Magento 2 features can be used to improve your website can be more readily identified.

2. Third-Party Extensions

Reviewing existing extensions and third-party integrations is essential ahead of starting a migration, helping you decide whether they are all still adding value to your eCommerce store or if you need to update or remove them altogether. Magento also made the announcement that not all extensions have a Magento 2 version, businesses should visit the Magento Marketplace to find out more and take the time to remove outdated or redundant extensions in order to simplify the migration process.

3. Use a Data Migration Tool

When you’re ready to begin your migration, we encourage you to use a Data Migration Tool. This tool is essential to the project making the process of migrating customers, catalogues, orders and core configuration smoother. A data migration won’t migrate everything such as custom data and media files, but you can make your own custom adjustments to the tool based on what you are wanting to migrate.

Magento 2 offers future-readiness and functionalities to take your website to the next level but we would always advise that you give yourself as much time as possible before the June 2020 M1 EOL deadline. A migration is a big project, preparing your website is a necessary task and you may also discover factors that you weren’t expecting. Contact us today to discuss your Magento 2 migration requirements and how team Pinpoint can help.